Hemp Alerts & Happenings

A quarterly newsletter brought to you by the Colorado Department of Agriculture
September 2022
Harvest Reports and Sample Collection
Remember! Before you harvest your hemp lot(s), your crop needs to be sampled.

  • Contact an authorized sampler within 30 days of your harvest date to have samples collected.

  • Review the list of certified labs to send your samples for analysis. Submit your harvest report at least 30 days prior to harvest.

For your convenience, you can enter that information into your portal account. The hemp program will email the registrants a letter of compliance if the hemp sample results are within the acceptable THC level. If your sample results are not within the acceptable THC level, the hemp program will email you instructions on what to do, including any remediation or disposal options.

Additionally, CDA inspectors will be conducting random inspections throughout the year.

Please ensure to have the following documents available for inspection:
  • planting and harvest reports
  • regulatory THC results
  • FSA-578 form
  • receipts for buying or selling hemp seeds or clones,
  • petition, if applicable
  • crop off-site storage form, if applicable
  • remediation/disposal form, if applicable

Questions? Contact the Hemp program via our online hemp question form.
USDA's Hemp Chief Visits Colorado
On July 13 and 14, 2022 Bill Richmond, USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program Chief visited Colorado with two of his core team members Emily Febles and Fiona Pexton.

They met with the CDA Hemp team to see some of the Colorado hemp industry first hand, including commercial and R&D production, fiber and CBD processing, along with seed, grain, and industrial hemp manufacturing.

We also had a meeting with CDA senior management and a courtesy meeting with the Governor. Here is a summary of the visit.
Intoxicating Hemp and Tetrahydrocannabinol Products SB 22-205
Governor Jared Polis signed SB 22-205 into law on May 31, 2022.

SB 22-205 requires the State Licensing Authority in coordination with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to create a task force to study intoxicating hemp products and make legislative and rule recommendations.

Farm Service Agency (“FSA”) Lot Numbers
Contact the FSA to create a farm record!

FSA will provide a farm and tract number. After you plant, report your hemp crop acreage to FSA to receive a field number, and possibly, a subfield letter. All of those numbers comprise a FSA lot number: farm number-tract number-field number subfield letter (example: 1234-5678-9A). Each strain needs a different FSA lot number.

FSA lot numbers are not required when you grow hemp plants inside within your registered land area (“RLA”) then move them outside within your RLA.

However, you will need to report your hemp crop acreage to FSA when you plant your hemp outside within your RLA. If you solely grow hemp indoors year round, you can report your hemp crop acreage one time using the earliest planting date after the beginning of the FSA crop year, which is October 1.

After you receive your FSA lot number for each hemp strain, enter it with your planting reports in your account of the Hemp Online Portal.
Federal Grant Money Available
USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.

Federal agencies offer a multitude of grants for agriculture. Please visit grants.gov for information on other available grants for hemp.

Read about the $25 million grant CDA is receiving to expand participation in the STAR program, which is available to producers using soil health practices.
Hemp News Highlights
The Hemp Program is developing a Resource Page on the hemp webpage.

This Resource Page will have links to other state agencies, federal agencies, and documents with important information.


305 Interlocken Parkway
Broomfield, CO 80021
303-869-9050